Buckeyes’ Hill extinguishes IU comeback

Curt Miller is known for his fiery coaching style and on-court antics.

But when the calls repeatedly went Ohio State’s way Sunday, he and his staff had had enough.

Miller and his bench picked up technical fouls within a minute of each other in the second half that allowed Ohio State to extend its lead to 10 points. The Buckeyes survived the ensuing IU comeback effort to beat the Hoosiers 70-56 in Assembly Hall.

“Certainly technicals can be strategic,” Miller said. “They can be timely to fire up your team and all that. That’s my first technical in the Big Ten.

“I would have liked to got my money’s worth, but I didn’t.”

With 13:14 to go and IU down 48-41, Miller argued a foul by Simone Deloach near the basket on OSU’s Tayler Hill, who split her technical free throws and made both of her regular foul shots.

Two possessions later, an assistant IU coach blurted “ridiculous” when Sasha Chaplin was not awarded a foul call on an in-close miss.

The second technical led to two more free throws by Hill, followed by a layup by Darryce Moore that made it 54-41 Buckeyes with 12:08 remaining.

The technicals did in fact give the Hoosiers (10-12, 1-8 Big Ten) the jolt they needed to make it a game.

IU responded with a 10-4 run over the next 3:20 that cut Ohio State’s lead back to single digits, 58-51, with 8:48 to go.

“First off, coach was just sticking up for us,” freshman Nicole Bell said. “You know, when he’s such a passionate person, it kind of helps us on the court. We became fired up and we really tried to hit a run, so I definitely think that gave us some momentum.”

Aualni Sinclair got things started with a 20-foot jumper from the top of the key. On the next possession, she found Simone Deloach slipping to the basket for the easy two.

Later in the run, Deloach returned the favor. She missed her initial attempt underneath the basket, but crashed to the floor to corral the miss after it trickled out to the wing.
While on the ground, Deloach fed Sinclair, who drained a three that made it 58-51 OSU with 9:24 to go.

“Her hard work got the loose ball and the kickout to me for the shot,” Sinclair said. “All that happened because of Simone and her effort. We just need that from everyone.” 

Then, it was Tayler Hill time.

Hill scored a game-high 24 points. She scored six of Ohio State’s eight points from 7:55 to 5:31 to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 66-53, essentially sealing the game and ending any hopes of an IU comeback.

The run started when Amber Stokes grabbed a long rebound and immediately tossed it to Hill, who raced down the court and finished with the scoop in transition.

Two possessions later, Hill stripped Sinclair and went coast-to-coast for another fast break bucket, in which the Buckeyes enjoyed a 12-0 advantage.  

“Every time we made a bit of a run at them, to make it a little bit uncomfortable, Tayler Hill came up with a big play,” Miller said. “It wasn’t the only time in the game we got to single digits that you see the next basket be by Tayler Hill. And that’s what great players do.”

IU battled with Ohio State throughout a first half that saw six ties and eight lead changes.

Ohio State took a 10-point lead with 1:13 to go when Hill hit a leaner in the lane and looked determined to put the game away in the first half.

But Sinclair and Nicole Bell responded with back-to-back threes in the final minute to bringing IU back within single digits, 34-30, at the break.